Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Puerto Santander Colombia

In Puerto Santander, the summers are short, sweltering, and overcast; the winters are long, warm, and mostly cloudy; and it is oppressive year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 74°F to 97°F and is rarely below 71°F or above 103°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit Puerto Santander for hot-weather activities is from mid December to early March.

The hot season lasts for 2.8 months, from June 28 to September 22, with an average daily high temperature above 96°F. The hottest month of the year in Puerto Santander is August, with an average high of 97°F and low of 79°F.

The cool season lasts for 4.0 months, from November 6 to March 6, with an average daily high temperature below 90°F. The coldest month of the year in Puerto Santander is January, with an average low of 74°F and high of 89°F.

In Puerto Santander, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Puerto Santander begins around December 13 and lasts for 3.2 months, ending around March 20.

The clearest month of the year in Puerto Santander is January, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 34% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 20 and lasts for 8.8 months, ending around December 13.

The cloudiest month of the year in Puerto Santander is May, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 86% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Puerto Santander varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 7.8 months, from April 5 to November 29, with a greater than 31% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Puerto Santander is October, with an average of 14.9 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 4.2 months, from November 29 to April 5. The month with the fewest wet days in Puerto Santander is January, with an average of 4.1 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Puerto Santander is October, with an average of 14.9 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 50% on October 28.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Puerto Santander experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Puerto Santander. The month with the most rain in Puerto Santander is October, with an average rainfall of 4.0 inches.

The month with the least rain in Puerto Santander is January, with an average rainfall of 1.0 inches.

The length of the day in Puerto Santander does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 36 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 38 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 12 hours, 37 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:30 AM on May 27, and the latest sunrise is 40 minutes later at 6:10 AM on January 30. The earliest sunset is at 5:26 PM on November 13, and the latest sunset is 46 minutes later at 6:12 PM on July 12.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Puerto Santander during 2024.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Puerto Santander experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 10 months, from August 24 to July 6, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 91% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Puerto Santander is May, with 30.6 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Puerto Santander is February, with 27.5 days that are muggy or worse.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Puerto Santander experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from May 29 to September 12, with average wind speeds of more than 2.9 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Puerto Santander is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 3.7 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.5 months, from September 12 to May 29. The calmest month of the year in Puerto Santander is November, with an average hourly wind speed of 2.1 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Puerto Santander varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 4.2 months, from May 27 to October 1, with a peak percentage of 62% on July 30. The wind is most often from the east for 7.8 months, from October 1 to May 27, with a peak percentage of 51% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Puerto Santander throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Puerto Santander for general outdoor tourist activities is from late December to early March, with a peak score in the third week of January.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Puerto Santander for hot-weather activities is from mid December to early March, with a peak score in the third week of January.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Temperatures in Puerto Santander are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.0 months, from January 28 to March 30, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Puerto Santander is February, with an average of 5.9 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 1.9 months, from October 14 to December 11, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.9 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Puerto Santander is November, with an average of 4.6 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Puerto Santander are 8.364 deg latitude, -72.406 deg longitude, and 164 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Puerto Santander is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 92 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 165 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (1,578 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (12,710 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Puerto Santander is covered by cropland (30%), trees (29%), grassland (24%), and shrubs (17%), within 10 miles by trees (44%) and cropland (26%), and within 50 miles by trees (55%) and cropland (19%).